


learning about you and me

by compendiary (orphan_account)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Coming of Age, Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 09:29:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20387497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/compendiary
Summary: yukhei gets sent to work on his grandfather’s farm for the summer as a punishment, but there he meets bright-eyed kunhang who helps him learn that there is more to his journey.





	learning about you and me

**Author's Note:**

> some cantonese terms used in this fic:  
_yeye 爷爷_ means grandpa  
_zai 仔_ is a term of endearment added behind a young boy’s name to express fondness  
_joigin 再見_ means goodbye, but the separate words mean “again” and “meet”, so “see you again”

When Yukhei’s mother first tells him that she’s sending him to the countryside as a disciplinary measure, Yukhei expects himself to hate it there. What’s to love about the endless stretches of paddy fields and the scorching heat of the summer? Worst of all, he’ll be visiting his grandfather’s farm, and his grandfather especially enjoys complaining about the modern day youths’ inability to work a day of manual labour.

Yukhei is going to experience hell there and he already knows it.

When he first steps onto the grounds of the countryside from the bus, he immediately realises that one of his worst nightmares have come true—there is barely any reception here. His phone is rendered useless as he holds it up to the sky, hoping to get some sort of connection so he can make contact with the outside world to no avail.

How will he survive without the Internet?

Maybe his grandfather _is_ right about the children of Yukhei’s generation.

But Yukhei is upset with reason, there’s no way for him to make a frantic call to his grandfather to get him to come pick him up from the bus station. He can’t even tweet to moan about his current predicament. Before he begins to consider alternative measures, a honk from the distance breaks his train of thought.

“Hey!” A boy about Yukhei’s age shouts from what looks like a scooter. His bike is hinged to a cart that’s trailing behind him. “Are you Wong Yukhei?”

Yukhei looks to his side but there’s no one else beside him after he disembarked the bus and was left here to die. “No?” Yukhei lies, hoping that this guy’s not some kidnapper who heard news of a naïve city boy visiting and wanted to make a quick bout of cash by demanding a generous ransom from his family in exchange for his life.

The boy laughs. He has a cap on backwards which doesn’t help shield his eyes from the sun and he immediately hops off his ride, sauntering over to Yukhei. “Huang y_éye_ didn’t tell me that he had a liar in the family.”

Yukhei notes that there’s a slight accent to the boy’s Mandarin. He must not be local too. “You know my grandfather?” he asks sceptically, watching as the boy lazily picks one of his bags off the ground before heading in the direction of his parked scooter.

This guy is fair, his complexion much too pale for someone who grew up in the countryside where farming is the norm. The rest of him is rather clean and neat as well, which makes him seem all the more suspicious because no one looks that kept together after a hard day’s work.

“Are you kidnapping me?” Yukhei asks. He doesn’t trust this guy completely but he doubts someone quite a bit shorter than him will be able to do much damage. He follows him anyway, his other bag in hand, because it’s not like there’s anything else for him to do.

“Pfft, as if I’d be able to make you come with me if you didn’t want to,” the boy scoffs. “Huang _yéye_ made me come pick you up. So hop in the back and I’ll take you home.” He points backwards with his thumb as he starts the engine of the scooter.

Yukhei looks to where the boy is gesturing and he realises that he means for him to sit in the cart attached at the back. “Are you joking?”

“No, my name’s Kunhang,” the boy retorts easily, finally letting Yukhei put a name to his face. “Just sit in the back, city boy. It’s either this or you trek 15 kilometres back to your grandad’s farm.”

Yukhei narrows his eyes at Kunhang, noting the Cantonese pronunciation of his name. He sighs before deciding that this is better than being stranded in the middle of nowhere. He’ll just climb on and let nature take its course. If he dies because Kunhang is a serial killer who murders hitchhikers for fun then so be it, it’s not like he has much to look forward to during the summer anyway.

Yukhei continues to curse his luck (and his poor performance at school) after Kunhang starts driving. The scooter doesn’t go very fast but there’s enough velocity to generate a small breeze. As the wind blows through his hair while he’s seated in the narrow crate, Yukhei takes in the lush greenery that he can see around him, noting that it’s almost harvesting season.

He used to enjoy visiting the countryside as a child because it was a huge contrast to the concrete jungle of Hong Kong. He could actually learn to ride a bicycle here without worrying about getting run over by a vehicle, there were endless expanses of land for him to chase his brother through, and there were so many little animals that he just couldn’t see back in the city.

He doesn’t know when the innocent fun of living on a farm started to become a form of punishment to him. It’s funny how time can change someone.

“How long will you be staying?” Kunhang asks suddenly. He shouts his question into the open space before him as he continues looking forwards.

“A couple of months,” Yukhei replies begrudgingly. It’s going to be a lonely stretch of time without social media to keep him company. He’s going to have an endless amount of Douyin videos to catch up on by the time he gets a stable connection to the Internet.

“Then we’ll have ample of time to become good friends!” Kunhang enthuses. “It’s going to be nice having an extra set of hands around here.”

Yukhei snorts to himself. He belatedly realises that Kunhang is speaking to him in Cantonese.

* * *

Yukhei learns that Kunhang shares the same last name as him: Wong. Kunhang is also the same age as him. However, although Cantonese is also Kunhang’s first language, he doesn’t hail from Hong Kong. Instead, he’s from Macau, the neighbouring region to Yukhei’s birthplace that Yukhei’s made countless of jokes about visiting once he turns 21.

Kunhang isn’t quiet and demure like what one would assume of him at first glance. He’s chatty with almost no filter, and Yukhei can’t keep up his façade of disinterest when Kunhang engages him in all kinds of small talk. Kunhang’s earnestness is difficult to resist and soon Yukhei finds himself dropping his act of “coming to this farm is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me” to return to his usual bubbly self.

Grandpa Wong is especially pleased that Kunhang seems to be a good influence on Yukhei. “He’d be sulking about being disconnected from the rest of the world if it wasn’t for you, Hang-_zai_,” he says over breakfast after Yukhei’s first night at the farm. “Sometimes peer pressure is a good thing.”

Yukhei was allowed a day off after his arrival the afternoon before, but Grandpa Wong throws him a pair of stained overalls and work boots right after breakfast and orders for Kunhang to show his grandson the works. Yukhei loves his grandfather, he really does, but he’s never been a fan of having to get himself dirty. He doesn’t mind doing things like picking fruit and herding the sheep but he draws the line at having to shovel manure to fertilise crop seedlings.

Which is exactly what Kunhang takes him to do.

“How the hell are you so happy about this?” Yukhei asks, working the shovel in his hands quickly so he can fill the straw bag faster. “It smells like a dirty toilet in here.”

“Really?” Kunhang mutters, unbothered as he squats next to Yukhei, his two hands holding the bag open. He has a wide smile on his face as he watches Yukhei work, clearly entertained by the latter’s suffering. “I didn’t notice.”

This makes Yukhei wonder about him all the more. How did a young kid like Kunhang—from _Macau_, no less—end up in some no-name farming town all the way in Guangzhou? Yukhei posed this question to him last night after dinner but he didn’t receive a proper answer. All Kunhang said was that he enjoys being one with nature.

Kunhang works efficiently for someone who’s only been doing this for a week. Grandpa Wong continuously compares the two boys’ work ethic, praising Kunhang’s diligence in ensuring that every seedling is well-fertilised and watered while pursing his lips at Yukhei’s sloppy work of weeding the area.

Somehow, Yukhei can’t bring himself to dislike Kunhang. He can’t help that Kunhang’s an ace at farming while he’s shit at every job he attempts. He supposes that it helps that Kunhang is there to take a load of the work off his shoulders because he’d be the one doing _everything_ if Kunhang wasn’t here.

“How are you so good at this?” Yukhei asks between bites of a large watermelon that Grandpa Wong cut up for them. The fruit is juicy and sweet. Maybe the countryside is good for something.

Kunhang only looks at Yukhei with a lifted brow. “What do you mean?” he asks, blinking his large eyes at Yukhei owlishly. He has a straw hat on this afternoon that almost covers his entire face.

“You’re from Macau,” Yukhei states, throwing one of the rinds into a bag for composting. “There aren’t any farms on Macau but you’re good at farming.”

Kunhang laughs at Yukhei’s observation. “If you think I’m good at this, you’re in for many more surprises,” he says proudly, puffing his chest out as he takes a large bite of watermelon. “You’ll get better at it, Hei. Just stop worrying about what your hair looks like for _one second_ and you’ll be great.”

Yukhei immediately stops touching his hair. He meets eyes with Kunhang who laughs at him. Yukhei can’t help but laugh too. “Give me one of those straw hats, then,” he snaps, snatching Kunhang’s hat off of his head in one swipe.

“Oi, get your own!” Kunhang scolds, but he doesn’t motion to take it back from him.

Yukhei wears the hat for the rest of the day but it comes at the cost of his neck tanning more than his face. He groans when he looks into the mirror later that night. He’s going to have to put some sunscreen on tomorrow.

Kunhang somehow looks just as fair as he did this morning as if working all day under the sun didn’t do anything to his skin. It baffles Yukhei to no end, but he doesn’t bring it up.

“I found this really cool spot by the woods the other day,” Kunhang says as they’re doing the dishes after dinner. His hair is damp from the shower he just took and his eyes are gleaming as he scrubs at a ceramic plate. “Maybe I’ll show it to you once you get better at doing work.”

“I don’t want to see your stupid secret hideout,” Yukhei responds.

“You don’t mean that,” Kunhang laughs. “Don’t worry, you’re a clever guy. I’m sure you’ll get a hang of it soon.”

Although Yukhei says he doesn’t want to see the spot, he finds himself working extra hard in the following weeks. Perhaps Kunhang’s words also act as a form of motivation—Yukhei’s never had anyone call him _clever_ like that before. He’s not the best when it comes to academics and the only time people describe him as “smart” is when they’re talking about how street-smart he is, how savvy he is when it comes to getting himself out of trouble, et cetera.

Kunhang’s little noises of “whoa!” and “good job!” whenever Yukhei manages to do something properly (without complaining as well) serve as further encouragement for Yukhei to do better.

Yukhei even starts to receive compliments from Grandpa Wong, who happily tells Yukhei’s mother about how much Yukhei has matured since his last visit to the farm. “He’s growing into a reliable young man,” his grandpa says proudly. “He hasn’t complained ever since his first day here. He hasn’t even asked for the WiFi password.”

Yukhei’s eyes widen in surprise. “We have WiFi?!” he shrieks, holding onto his grandfather’s forearm tightly. “You didn’t tell me that we have WiFi!”

Grandpa Wong shrugs nonchalantly. “You didn’t ask,” he replies simply. “Plus, I think that it’s a better use of your time to interact with Hang-_zai_, he told me that he doesn’t need the WiFi connection.”

Yukhei turns to look at Kunhang, his eyes blazing with betrayal. “You never told me that I could get connected,” he grits from between his teeth as his grandfather resumes his conversation with his mother. “You _traitor_.”

Kunhang grins. “Like _yeye_ said, you never asked.”

Even though Yukhei yearns to be able to check his group chats on WeChat to learn of what his friends are doing over the summer—Is Kun dying at his tutoring job? How is Sicheng faring at his foreign exchange programme in Seoul? Does Ten still remember how to converse in Mandarin?—he doesn’t pester his grandfather to get him connected to the Internet. He hasn’t charged his phone in a while, only having used it once or twice to play some music before Kunhang found a ratty old stereo for them to use.

After that it’s been fuzzy radio stations and Chinese oldies, courtesy of Grandpa Wong’s ‘Chinese Modern Classics’ CD.

Yukhei finds that he doesn’t quite mind the absence of his usual music playlists when he hears Kunhang belt out the lyrics to Wan Fang’s ‘New Everlasting Love’.

* * *

Yukhei earns the rights to visit Kunhang’s “special place” after a month of working as a farmhand. He’s tanned at least two shades by now even with the aid of sunscreen and he can only imagine the look on his friends’ faces when he returns home with his uneven tan lines. He’s going to get so much teasing, especially from Renjun’s smart mouth.

Kunhang’s spot is by a lake not too far off from where the Wong farm ends. They have to climb across one of the low fences to trek past a small collection of trees, but the walk there is worth the journey when Yukhei catches a glimpse of the sky.

“Oh my God,” Yukhei mutters to himself, noting how bright the moon is tonight. The full moon hangs above them, casting a ray of light that is reflected in the surface of the quiet river before them. “You weren’t kidding… this place _is_ cool.”

Kunhang laughs. “I told you,” he singsongs, sitting down on the grass in a cross-legged position. He pats the ground next to him. “Sit. You won’t have to strain your neck as much to look from down here.”

Yukhei continues looking upwards in awe, almost stumbling backwards when he moves to take a seat next to Kunhang. He’s never been an avid nature lover, but this is admittedly something that he’d never be able to see in the city. “Why didn’t you take me here earlier?” he says to Kunhang, elbowing him lightly in the ribs. “This would’ve made me feel so much better about having to spend my time here.”

“Do you think full moons happen every day?”

“Huh?”

Kunhang shakes his head as Yukhei turns to look at him. “I had to wait till the next full moon to take you here,” he explains, rolling his eyes for emphasis. “Silly boy.”

Yukhei lets his mouth fall open in understanding. So this wasn’t really about Yukhei having to prove himself to Kunhang at all—Kunhang was willing to share this with him from the beginning, he just had to find the perfect time for it. Yukhei is touched, in all honesty. He didn’t think that Kunhang would want to share something so beautiful with a stranger.

“Also, I’d say that your days here haven’t been that bad,” Kunhang points out, a smile spreading across his face as he looks Yukhei in the eyes. “I haven’t caught you crying or anything. I even thought that you were beginning to enjoy yourself.”

Yukhei swallows as he makes note of how the moonlight shines onto the sharp features of Kunhang’s face, illuminating the slope of his nose and the angles of his Cupid’s bow. Kunhang’s eyes are shining like diamonds. “I suppose I am,” he admits, suddenly feeling his heart rate pick up. This is unusual. “Enjoying myself, I mean.”

Kunhang is pleased to hear that as he turns away, looking up at the sky once more. “The countryside truly is beautiful, huh?”

Yukhei doesn’t bother looking up at the skyline before choking out a quick “Yeah.”

* * *

Yukhei soon realises that his grandfather is right. Kunhang _is_ a good influence on him. Yukhei can groom the horses and wash them all by himself now while Kunhang works on something else near him. He became independent in farming work—herding the animals and harvesting crops like he’s been doing it all his life.

He starts to enjoy this, even. He doesn’t find it as much of a hassle having to wake up at the break of dawn and the aggressive geese that chase after him when he enters the chicken coop to pick up eggs don’t frighten him anymore. Farm life starts to become a quiet norm, the lull of the countryside mellowing Yukhei down so he can finally make sense of his thoughts.

He can actually take time to think about what he wants and doesn’t want now.

He supposes that it was one of the main reasons why his mother sent him here. Her harsh words telling him that he needs to pick up the slack and start considering his future were unwelcome back in the heat of the moment, but now that Yukhei’s taken some time off he realises that his mother means well.

She sent him over to the countryside not as a punishment, but so he could clear his head and decide what he wants to pursue for his future.

Yukhei shares this revelation with Kunhang over a cup of tea as they sit in one of the wooden sheds overlooking the sheep enclosure. Kunhang had gingerly poured the _pu’er _tea into the small teacups for them as they talk about everything and nothing at the same time.

“I finally realised why I’m here,” Yukhei starts, watching how one of the young lambs nuzzles its head against its mother. “Like, I realised why my mum sent me here.”

Kunhang’s ears perk up in interest as he takes a sip from his teacup. He winces when the hot tea scalds his tongue. “Why?” he asks, his pronunciation muddled as he leaves his tongue out to allow the heat to dissipate. “Why’d she send you here?”

“I didn’t do very well for my finals,” Yukhei admits, the shame coming to him in waves. He’s never liked discussing his academic accomplishments with others—he doesn’t like the way they look at him when he admits that he doesn’t really understand mathematics. “I won’t be able to get into any university in Hong Kong with grades like that.”

Kunhang hums his empathy.

“_Mummy_ was pissed, obviously,” Yukhei continues, leaning back slightly and supporting his weight by his hands placed beside him. “But at the end of the day the choice comes back to me. She just wants me to choose something to do with my future.”

“She wants you to farm? That’s unusual,” Kunhang comments, blinking at Yukhei as he turns to look at him seriously.

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Yukhei says. “She probably just wanted me to see that there are other routes in life if I’m not… _academically-competent_.” The words taste bitter as he says them.

Kunhang sighs. “Look,” he reaches over to take one of Yukhei’s hands in his and he squeezes strongly. “You were talking about university, right?”

Yukhei nods.

“Do you want to go to uni?”

Yukhei does. He knows that he doesn’t score flying colours on every exam he takes and he’s never been close to being at the top of his class but he enjoys learning. He likes attending classes. He wants to continue learning, like Kun and Sicheng. He nods.

“Then why not go?”

“Huh?” Yukhei dumbly says. “I told you… my grades are shit. I won’t be able to meet the admission requirements.”

Kunhang’s grip only tightens. “In _Hong Kong_,” he states. “But fuck Hong Kong—no offence—your education system is seriously screwed up. You don’t have to go to university there, I promise.”

Yukhei only continues staring at Kunhang, unsure of where this conversation is heading. The only thing he knows is that Kunhang looks _serious _and he looks like he has a lot of faith in him. In _Yukhei_. “What are you saying?”

“Do you have a dream, Yukhei?” Kunhang asks. “A childhood pipe dream of sorts?”

“I’ve always wanted to be an athlete,” Yukhei admits bashfully. He’s way past the age to be thinking of playing professionally without a background of training. “But… that’s not possible anymore. I just like sports, I guess.”

“Have you ever considered doing sports science?”

Yukhei raises an eyebrow in question. “Sports science?” It’s not that he’s never thought about it, but pursuing further education was something Yukhei was hesitant about doing, moreover taking up such a niche major. He doesn’t think that his parents would be very supportive of this idea—he’s not smarter than his younger brother, so why would they put in money for his education when it could fund his brother for an Ivy League college?

Kunhang nods. He lets go of Yukhei’s hand now but his gaze is still steady. “I’ve always wanted to be a farmer,” Kunhang suddenly says. “It sounds stupid to everyone, but I’ve always wanted to own a farm. Grow my own food. Rear my own animals. Be self-sufficient.”

“Uh huh…”

“But obviously, coming from Macau, that’s not going to work. Which is why when I found an opening on _yeye_’s farm for the summer, I jumped at the opportunity to visit,” Kunhang enthuses. “I know it won’t be easy for me to be able to own a farm in the city… but I like to think that I found a happy medium. So guess what?”

“What?”

Kunhang grins, taking both of Yukhei’s hands in his now. “I’ve decided that I want to do agriculture science. My friends laughed at me, like… Yangyang wouldn’t let me hear the last of it for a week, but I made up my mind and I applied to a school in Beijing. It widens up my job options and I can learn about something that I’m interested in while I’m at it.”

Yukhei squeezes Kunhang’s hands in encouragement, noting how excited the latter is about his plans. “And that’s amazing. Congratulations, Hang.”

“Which means… if I can find something that’s a good balance, I think you can too.” The look in Kunhang’s eyes is earnest. He means well. “You’re not ‘stupid’ or ‘not good enough’, Yukhei. You’re smart, you’re eager to learn, and you’re willing to put in hard work. I see all these good qualities in you and I know you deserve all the good things you want. And if you want to go to university, you should go.”

Yukhei doesn’t know why but he feels slightly choked up. “You really think I deserve it?”

Kunhang’s show of affirmation is as strong as any. “Yes,” he says loudly as he nods. “But I don’t think, I _know_.”

It’s strange how in just the short span of a month and a half, Kunhang’s managed to influence Yukhei in small but positive ways. Yukhei finds that he really is lucky to have him around. “I’ll think about it,” Yukhei agrees, smiling to himself when he hears Kunhang’s loud cheer in response.

“You should come to Beijing with me,” Kunhang says after he’s calmed down. He gulps down the contents of a teacup. One of his hands is still grasping onto Yukhei’s firmly, their fingers interlocked as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “It’ll be fun.”

Yukhei strokes Kunhang’s fingers with his thumb, running it along the smooth skin of his hand. That does sound nice. “I’ll think about it.”

* * *

Yukhei’s last week at the farm soon rolls over and he’s less thrilled about it than he would’ve expected. He thought he would be bouncing on the balls of his feet by now, itching to get on the bus to return to the cityscape where he thrives, but instead he feels kind of empty.

He’s antsy by Wednesday, noting that he only has three more days before he’s due to get on his early morning bus to the airport on Sunday. He’s become so accustomed to waking up to the old-fashioned alarm clock that’s ring pierces his eardrums at 6AM every morning; he’s used to seeing his grandfather’s back frying up eggs by the stove for their breakfast. And most of all, it’s become a routine for him to see Kunhang—all wide smiles and shiny pearly whites—at the breakfast table waiting for him with a bowl of rice, glancing up at him from underneath his fringe.

He knows it’s embarrassing but he tells Kunhang that.

Kunhang only laughs at him, punching him lightly in the arm after calling him “silly.”

Yukhei means it, though. He’s going to miss this. He’s going to miss Kunhang.

He finally says it in its entirety when on Saturday evening as they’re sitting on the crate attached to the same scooter that Kunhang drove him in. It’s a tight squeeze for the both of them but they make it work. “I’m going to miss you,” Yukhei confesses, hoping that the lack of lighting in the area will conceal the heat spreading across his face.

Kunhang hums, turning to look at Yukhei casually as if Yukhei didn’t just bare his soul to him. “I’ll miss you too,” he says, lazily reaching over to clasp Yukhei’s hand with his. He squeezes it.

“What…” Yukhei starts, but he shuts himself up before he can say something he’ll regret. “_What’s going to happen to us? What are we? When will I see you again?_” All these questions are swimming through Yukhei’s mind as he tries to read Kunhang’s expression under the dim moonlight.

“Come to Beijing with me,” Kunhang suggests suddenly. There’s a nervous smile on his lips as he says the words. “I mean… if you want. If you don’t, that’s fine too. I’m just saying.”

Yukhei gapes at him. “Really?”

It would be a lie to say that Yukhei hasn’t considered Kunhang’s suggestion that he apply to do sports science. He talked to his mother about it over the phone the other day by pretending that one of his friends was looking to take up the subject. He was trying to gauge her response, and based on her lack of an outright negative one, Yukhei assumes that it’s not something she’ll be averse to.

She even sounded hopeful that Yukhei had an interest to learn about what his friends were doing for higher education. “You’ll need to start drafting your life plan too,” she had chided quietly. Not as fiercely as the times they’ve argued over the topic.

“I wouldn’t mind having you around,” Kunhang admits, running a hand through his jet black hair. It’s longer than it was at the beginning of summer—his fringe almost covers half his face now if he doesn’t comb it aside. “But you can go anywhere else! I’m not forcing you to come with me or anything.”

Yukhei nods, unable to stop himself from smiling. “I’ve thought about it.”

“About coming with me?”

“Yeah,” he breathes out, chewing on his bottom lip after. “I mean, if you don’t mind.”

Yukhei expects Kunhang to smile, and Kunhang does, but his smile is a million times more dazzling than the one Yukhei pictured in his head. “Really?” Kunhang asks. He laughs lightly when Yukhei nods. “This is weird. Okay… I’m sorry if I’m overthinking this, but…”

Yukhei gulps. “Yeah?”

“Do you want to…” As Kunhang speaks, he readjusts himself so his body is angled towards Yukhei’s now. He runs his tongue along his lower lip. “Um…”

Yukhei decides he’ll just answer the question without him having to ask. “Yes,” he says, reaching over to cup the back of Kunhang’s head gently as he moves closer towards him.

Kunhang smells like body wash as he’s fresh from the shower, but there’s also an underlying scent of something green—a hint of the countryside breeze. When they kiss, it feels like everything makes sense again. Like this whole trip for Yukhei to come to the countryside was all part of a circle for him to find himself—for Yukhei to find someone who’d guide him back on track.

He doesn’t regret this trip at all, now that it’s turned out like this.

“I like you,” Yukhei says when he leans back, noting the quirk at the edge of Kunhang’s lips when they part. “I _really_ like you.”

“Funny,” Kunhang whispers. He trails his fingers through Yukhei’s hair, combing back the locks that fall back onto his face. “I was about to say the same thing.”

When Yukhei leaves, it doesn’t feel like a goodbye.

Kunhang lets him drive them to the bus station at the break of dawn. Yukhei appreciates the sentiment—it’s something like coming full circle. He enjoys the breeze running through his hair and the view of the golden paddy fields—just ready for harvesting—under the warm glow of the morning sun peeking through the clouds.

“You know how we say ‘goodbye’ in Cantonese?” Kunhang asks as they sit in the crate, watching as the bus inches closer to them from a distance.

Yukhei nods. “_Joi gin_?”

Kunhang smiles. “Yup,” he says, taking Yukhei’s hand in his as he leans up to peck him on the cheek. “Take the words apart and it’s ‘see you again’.”

Yukhei squeezes his hand before bringing Kunhang’s head to his chest so he can plant a quick kiss onto the crown of his head. “I’ll see you,” he whispers as he lets him go. “You have my number. And my address. Oh… and my heart.”

Kunhang laughs at him as he stands up to pick up his bags. “I’ll see you next month, after break,” Kunhang promises, waving at Yukhei as he walks ahead to prepare to board the bus.

“I’ll see you,” Yukhei repeats once more, just for good luck, before he climbs on.

He watches Kunhang from the window as the bus pulls away, waving slowly as the view of him recedes. His phone buzzes immediately after he settles himself into his seat.

_Miss me yet?_ The message reads. _Oh, and I forgot to tell you that your mobile carrier’s the only one that can’t get reception out here. So if you’re wondering, I’ve been connected to the outside world this entire time._

Yukhei laughs to himself, appreciating the one bar of connectivity that he sees on the top corner of his phone’s display. _Whatever_, he types back. _It all worked out for me anyway._

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first hencas fic! i wrote this in a few hours and i hope i managed to get my point across but believe in yourself! chase your dreams! you’re strong and amazing and you can do it!!!
> 
> twt: [@lucashaeyadwae](http://twitter.com/lucashaeyadwae) || [@heibighead](http://twitter.com/heibighead)


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